1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for supporting development of an integrated circuit. In particular, the invention relates to a system, a method, and an apparatus for supporting development of an integrated circuit which includes functional blocks having predetermined functions provided in advance.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types of electronic equipment including cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), personal computers, and CD players are now prevalent. These apparatuses are growing in performance year by year, with a reduction in size and weight as well. The miniaturization and sophistication, between which a tradeoff lies by nature, have been achieved together through the advance of semiconductor technologies.
The chief contributor historically is the fact that typical CPUs (Central Processing Units) have doubled in throughput every year. Nevertheless, higher integration achievable by CPUs alone have limitations naturally, and this has lead to the concept of SoC or “System on a Chip” in which not only a CPU but also the entire functions of an electronic device, including I/O circuits and the like, are mounted on a single chip. Under the circumstances, there are pervasive IP businesses that provide functional blocks for constituting SoCs or such very large scale integrated circuits in advance, and reuse and combine these to meet a variety of user needs speedily. IP stands for Intellectual Property, and by this expression the circuits for realizing individual functional blocks are regarded as intellectual properties. These properties are of importance for LSI makers to promote their products to set makers.
In recent years, semiconductor integrated circuits are growing in scale, and reductions are demanded of the development periods. The IP businesses are thus of increasing significance. To adopt operation-verified, field-proven IPs is an important technique in developing application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) which involve taking risks for development. In more and more cases, development and design of semiconductor integrated circuits involve not only reusing self-developed IPs but also procuring and utilizing IPs developed and provided by other companies at charge or at no charge. There are even emerging companies that are specialized in IP development. IP distribution businesses will be expanding in the future, and can be said to have the key to further advances of the semiconductor technologies. (For reference, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 8-36558.)
Now, suppose that the specifications on input/output interfaces, control methods, and the like are not standardized at the time of developing IPs, or for example, a set maker procures IPs having predetermined functions from other companies in order to add the functions to LSIs to be mounted on electronic equipment. Then, it is often the case that the IPs have different combinations of input/output signal lines and different control methods from those of the LSIs to be incorporated. That is, the set maker cannot apply the IPs purchased from the IP-providing agent to their intended uses as is, but must tune them to the specifications of the LSIs to be incorporated. Tuning IPs and verifying operations on LSIs are delicate, sophisticated work which requires know-how, techniques, and experience. A lot of time and effort are thus needed. Set makers utilize IPs in order to enjoy such advantages as reduced development costs, shorter development periods, and operation stability. If the tuning operation impairs these advantages, it might contribute the hesitation of set makers in utilizing IPs.
In addition, many of venture businesses specialized in IP development posses no facility for manufacturing circuits actually. Even with excellent techniques for logic design, they have no means to verify the designs in actual circuits. Set makers have experienced the phenomena that logic data, when put into actual circuits, can fail to operate within specifications due to such problems as racing. It seems likely that the set makers thus consider it risky and hesitate to purchase field-unproven IPs from venture businesses that have no circuit manufacturing plant.